“We were down there at the right time,” American Angler owner skipper Brian Kiyohara said after unloading 26 passengers at Point Loma Landing December 14. “We had great fishing on 60 to 150-pound tuna; our timing was great. We got the job done in three days.”

Skip Stenbro of Tiburon sponsored the trip, which brought back seven tuna over 200 pounds, including a 326.5-pound yellowfin caught on the kite.

After the crew hooked the kite up to a “double-trouble” bait, Anthony saw a small boil followed by an explosion on his two sardines.

“That’s all I saw of him until he was at gaff,” Anthony Foster of Long Beach said of his 326.5-pound trophy yellowfin. “I didn’t know how big he’d be. I fought him for an hour and a half. Crewman Jesse Kemble was helping me the whole time.”

The boat’s kite rig used 8/0 hooks, 130-pound Izorline, a Penn 50 two-speed reel and a Seeker 6465 XXH rod. “My previous best fish was a 50-pounder. Yeah, this was a trip of a lifetime,” continued Anthony.

Karl Khoe of San Diego took first place in the jackpot for his personal best, a 295-pound yellowfin.

“A real stubborn fish,” said Karl. “It was a real fight; a knock-down, drag-out kind of fight. And the crew kept me out of tangles, I don’t think I would have done it without them.”

Karl fly-lined a sardine with a sinker on an 8/0 Eagle Claw 2004 ringed circle hook, 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Blackwater Spectra, an Avet SDS reel and a Custom Yo’s Special short rod.

Tuesday afternoon was a busy time for Intrepid anglers and the crew assisting them.

“We had five or six fish going of 250 pounds or more,” said Buzz Brizendine. Buzz, who owns the Prowler, was aboard the Intrepid as a crewman and valuable advisor on the ten-day trip with 19 anglers. He helped out with several big fish, including the supercow that enticed a crowd to the dock at Pt. Loma Sportfishing when Intrepid arrived December 14.

When the sun went down most of those big yellowfin were on the boat. Skipper Dan Nichols taped them, and the three biggest ones taped at 337, 300 and 381 pounds.

“I taped that big one three times,” said Dan, “and I shaded the measurements.”

Two of the big tuna came in right at their taped estimates, at 300 and 339 pounds. But Bill Falter’s giant fish came in light, at 355 pounds. Falter, a 51-year-old gas station maintenance expert with 15 years in the business, said his best previous tuna was a 65-pounder he got at Guadalupe Island.

“He boiled on my bait,” said Bill, “and he hit it like nobody’s business. He threw big water in all directions. My line straightened out and I set the hook and right away I knew it was a big fish.

“I had the drag set very tight,” continued Falter, “and I pulled on him hard and he came at the boat. Then he went to the bow and took off and came out surfing way out there. I could have water skied behind him.

“I didn’t give him any slack. I kept the drag on hard and stayed on the bow. The fight took an hour. That’s where they gaffed him, but they brought him up through the passenger gate down the side. Dan taped him at 83.5 inches in length and 61 inches in girth.

“I’ve only been fishing long range for a couple of years,” noted Falter. "I’ve done lots of two and three-day trips, and I’ve fished on private boats. I’m hoping somebody will be interested in this one as a mount.”

Falter got his jackpot-winning monster on the boat’s kite gear. The boat’s report said, “…it exploded on a jumbo live squid pinned to a custom double hook leader using an 18/0 Mustad 39960D circle hook and a 12/0 7691 Stinger attached to a 600-pound Soft Steel leader. Backing that up with 200-pound Jerry Brown hollow Spectra on an Avet Pro EXW 50-2 (thanks Harry, you rock) reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH Black Steel Graphite rod.”

Corey Kong of Torrance won second place for a 339.2-pound yellowfin on a boat rig, after it also ate a squid under the kite.

“He boiled when he took the bait,” said Corey, “and then he ran out 300 yards. He was very stubborn and he fought for an hour. My best fish before this one was a 250-pounder. I want to credit the crew for their excellent help. What will I do with the fish? Cut it and eat him.”

Tom Hoskins of Fullerton won third place for his 300-pound tuna. His previous best was a 280-pounder.

“This one was on a squid and the kite with the boat rig, too,” he said. “He bit, he took off, he came back to the boat and fought me for an hour and a half. We were up on the bow and he took me around the anchor six or eight times.”

There was a large crowd at the landing, including several television crews and reporters. The rest of the fish weren’t available, but angler Scott Redd of Switzerland, who comes back to the states to fish long range, had three cows of 212, 230 and 237 pounds, all caught on sardines. He said he used 7/0 Eagle Claw hooks and 90-pound Momoi leader on 130-pound Line Spectra.

One of Redd’s cows came on a small Accurate 665 “topless two-speed” reel and a Calstar Baby Boomer rod. That fight lasted an hour and 10 minutes, he said.

The other pair were caught with an Avet 30 reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod.